


Plate and Scale

by AzimuthFlirt



Category: Monster Girl Encyclopedia, Monster Girls | Monster Boys, Original Work
Genre: Aprons, Armor, Awkward First Times, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Sexual Situations, Come Swallowing, Consensual, Cooking, Cowgirl Position, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deepthroating, F/M, Fantasy, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Fondling, Heavy Petting, Impregnation, Interspecies Awkwardness, Kissing, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Masturbation, Seduction, Tail Sex, Tsunderes, Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2018-12-08 03:28:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11637996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzimuthFlirt/pseuds/AzimuthFlirt
Summary: He is a knight, a proud protector of the working class. She is a lizard-girl who's never lost a fair duel before. While his heroism saved his village, it also earned him her affections. Despite his rejections, she keeps pushing him, wanting the knight's hand in marriage even though it is not his to give. How long will his resolve last, and how much do either of these lifelong warriors really know about seduction?





	1. Honorable Combat

"Wha-what do you mean, you won't marry me?" The lizard-girl's oval pupils glared upward along the long, shining blade. She lacked even a trace of fear in her contemptuous expression. "You won, idiot!"

Keeping the point of his sword at her throat, the armored knight shook his head in disbelief. "Be glad that I'm allowing what remains of your army to flee, scale-child. I could-"

"Child? Child!" One of her claws pulled at the remains of her form-fitting green leather armor, loosening it to reveal her chest. Not the wisest of things to do with a sword at one's throat, but she seemed to have something else on her mind. Her lightly tanned skin, marked with curving jade lines that undoubtedly meant something to other lizard-folk but nothing to the exasperated human, bore many proud scars. Her plump, perky breasts were also on full display, though she covered their most intimate parts with a forearm. Sweat dribbled down her muscular body, and each panting breath made her breasts bulge against the dark green armor that protected her arm.

The scaly, vicious claws that had torn rents in his armor now trembled slightly as late afternoon sunlight beat down upon the two warriors. Her sword was a short distance away, knocked from her grip in the last desperate moments of the battle. They had fought honorably while their armies jeered and taunted each other on the sidelines, blades clashing and armor shattering beneath their blows, but he had won. Her army of malformed monsters had fled almost immediately, leaving their supposed champion to certain death, while the rabble of peasants and hunters he led gave chase with unexpected valor now that their foes were routed. A fin-like fringe around her ears flared indignantly. "I'm of breeding age! I'm fit to nurse young! Don't call me a child, human, when I was a child I was still more than enough of a warrior to chop down the poachers who tried to steal momma's eggs!"

"Look, miss..." The knight raised his visor and wiped his forehead. It was hot in this armor, even though he could feel the breeze through the many gashes she'd torn in it. On more than one occasion he'd thought he was done for. "I know you lizard-folk are an honorable sort. Just give me your word upon your sword that you won't bother my village ever again, and I'll let you go."

"I don't want you to let me go, idiot human," she grumbled, drumming her fingers against the scabbard at her waist. "I want you to take me. Do you have any idea how many mud-wallowing peasant mobs I've beaten up? How many nobles I've knocked out of their saddles and dispossessed?" Fire flickered in her golden eyes, and her long tongue flicked out. "I've been beaten before, but not fairly, and never in a duel where it mattered. You're strong. It'll be good to have that strength." She started to pull herself upright, but he prodded her armored forearm with his blade until she halted. The lizard-girl's tail waggled behind her supine form, tip flicking from side to side just like a nervous man might pace back and forth. He kept one eye on it, she'd tripped him more than once with that tail. "My kind aren't like you humans, we know a good thing when we see it. You'd better hurry up and accept!"

"No." The knight shook his head, sheathed his sword, and walked away. He didn't have to deal with this. Sure, she was a skilled fighter, and even exhausted as he was he had felt certain parts go stiff at the sight of her full bosom, sweaty abdominals, and wide hips. Her monstrous features were extensions of the human form rather than deformations, giving her a fierce yet feminine appearance. The lizard-girl was certainly more attractive than the fattened hogs in dresses who kept throwing themselves at him back in the village, even with those slitted pupils and deadly claws. But he wasn't about to fall for her tricks. The rag-tag army of abominations she had led was full of horned beasts, slimy goos, and deformed half-men. She hadn't kept that rabble in check without plenty of cunning. As if she would really want to marry him, ha! "Go now, and do not return."

"I've got the rings right here!" she called after him, voice somewhere between a demand and a plea. Curious, he looked back. One claw held up the leather cord she wore around her neck, right next to the chain bearing identification tags which all lizard-folk of scrapping age seemed to possess. Upon the leather cord were two sliver rings, both braided with leather in a manner that prevented them from rattling. "I... I'm sorry they're only silver, I wasn't able to afford gold... but there's real gemstones in them! Um... small ones... you have to look close... H-hey, come back!" She sat upright as he continued walking away. "Don't just leave me here! That's no way to treat your faithful wife!"

"If I ever see you again," the knight called back wearily, "I shall thrust my sword deep inside you and end the danger you pose to the domains under my protection."

The fringe around her ears deflated, and her shoulders slumped. With one hand, she reached up and loosened the green bow that tied back her light brown hair, letting it fall almost to her shoulders. As she stared at the dents and gashes she had made in the back of his metal armor, tears welled in her golden eyes. In accordance with the best traditions of nature reacting to warfare, thunder rumbled in the distance as dark clouds swept swiftly over the battlefield. While the knight mounted his steed and galloped off toward the fortress to give his report to the political officers, trusting the peasantry to see to themselves as they always did, rain began to fall. His vanquished foe hugged her knees to her still-bare chest, rocking slowly back and forth while clutching the two silver rings in one scaly claw. The first drop hit the lizard-girl right on the nose, while the rest hid the water that trickled from the corners of her eyes.


	2. Uninvited Guest

His ears were still ringing from the cheers, his belly still hurt from the rotgut they'd used for the toast, and everything else still hurt from that thrashing the lizard-girl had given him earlier. Drunkenly, he muttered to himself, "yes, yes, comrades! This has indeed been a great victory, but it was not my victory! I am merely the servant of the state, a loyal knight of the People's Agrarian Union of Lands." The knight hiccuped to himself as he brushed his steed's coat and bedded the horse down for the night. They'd made him give a speech while still in the saddle, those pompous commissars. "My labor is no more valuable than yours! Without the farmer, the knight starves. Without the knight, the farmer is oppressed by the greedy capitalist pigs! And without the political officer, all falls into chaos and the worker's labor is squandered."

The knight patted his horse on the head, then staggered out of the stables and heaved out as much of the rotgut as he could into a nearby waste bin. "From each, according to their ability," he mumbled as his drunk mind repeated the speech from earlier, "to each, according to their needs." Wiping his mouth, he rinsed his face and mouth at the nearby spigot, swishing water through his teeth to get rid of that horrid taste. When he stood up he was still seeing double, but at least the churning in his stomach had ceased. Walking toward his simple hut, he felt the weight of his armor very keenly. The metal suit clanked when he walked, and would need extensive repair. It was good to be home. No less than ten of the piggish women had tried to drag him to their beds, but at least the commissars had kept them away. He was a knight, and his blood had to be kept strong so that he would breed more staunch defenders of the working class. So the politburo had declared. Of course, the general secretary and his toadies in their faraway castle, which they had appropriated from the aristocratic oppressors in the name of the people, had forgotten one key detail. Human women rarely took up the blade, especially not now, when they were encouraged to marry young and pump out more children who could work the land. After countless generations of serfdom, the People's Agrarian Union of Lands promised a bright and beautiful future for his country. It was right there, right on the horizon, always on the horizon, never close enough for anyone to grasp. Still, his father had protected this land and its people, and so would he, regardless of who lorded over the realm.

He lived in a one-room shack, slept on a cot in the basement. Thus, when he opened his front door, the strange scene inside was not obscured by capitalist tricks like internal partitions or multiple rooms. He saw a fire roaring in his fire-pit. Above it was a trio of eggs sizzling in a pan, and a hearty stew bubbling. This was strange enough, since he was accustomed to doing his own cooking. Far stranger, however, was the lizard-girl stirring the stew and holding the pan over the fire, an intense look on her face as though she was heating the food with her own rage. He recognized her from earlier in the day, but it did take a moment since she was out of her armor. Most of it, she still wore the simple green thong that he'd noticed beneath her more protective garb. What confused him the most was a new article of clothing, a white apron with forest green trim that covered the lizard-girl's front from her breasts to her knees. Her cleavage was on full display, as were her muscular arms and thick thighs, while her hair was tied back with a more ornate bow than she had worn during their duel. She had used both yellow and green ribbons, carefully gathering up her brown tresses and tying them back so they would not get in her way while she cooked or cleaned.

That was another thing that surprised him. She had indeed been cleaning. Oh, not in the spotless floors and perfectly-arranged socks sense like those maids at the commissars' estates, but his weapons all gleamed brighter than when they had been new and his lightweight set of leather armor had been oiled on its rack. She'd also fixed that creaky window-shutter, the one that would drift open in the middle of the night and let cold air blow in. He had kept meaning to do that, but between training the peasantry, slaying every horde of dire rats that attacked a farmstead, and putting up with the political officers' demands on his time, he had found it less stressful to just prop a heavy chair against the shutter and hope that held against the wind. She'd done a good job, too, at least an hour's work with a hammer and saw. That meant she had been here a while. He narrowed his eyes, blinking away the blurred vision and refocusing, then put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Before he could draw, she spoke. "Come in. It's cold out." She drew out the ladle from the soup and sniffed it, then nodded approvingly and began prodding at the eggs with a spatula to ensure they did not stick to the pan. "Your chow's almost ready."

"I've eaten already," he said, trying to make his voice low and threatening. It did not work. He was still a young man, and while the commissars had much experience in making their voices boom, he did not. "At the celebration of your defeat."

"I can't have my husband living off of that tripe!" The lizard-girl shook her head. "How are you supposed to stay a big, strong knight if you don't have your protein? Silly human, I'm only doing this because I have to." She waggled her tail at him. He noticed there was a bow tied on the latter third of it, its loops and ends waving with her spiritedly movements. "If my husband's too weak to fight, all my siblings will laugh at me!"

"I'm not your husband." He sagged against the doorframe. "Get out of my house." Her tail waggled as she crouched low, clawed feet keeping her stable as she lifted the stew pot off its holder. Just as he was about to yell at her, or at least try to, his stomach grumbled mightily. The poor fare at the celebration, as well as his emergency expulsion of the poisonous rotgut, had not gone unnoticed by his body.

She clucked her tongue at him, golden eyes full of irritation. "I've already cooked this for you. I'm not going to pour it out." The lizard-girl sat down on the far side of his table, carefully threading her tail through the back of the chair, then tapped the wood surface where he should sit. Wearily, he shut the door behind himself and sagged down into the open chair. She pushed the pot of stew toward him with a spoon, then the sizzling eggs, and smiled. "Hey, the least you can do is say thanks. From the way you're glaring at this good food, somebody'd think you were implyin' I'd stoop low enough to poison you or something." One of her claws pressed against the identification tags that hung around her neck, the leather-padded metal plates dangling between her breasts. Now that he was close enough to see them, he could read her blood-type and religious affiliations, but couldn't quite make out her name.

The knight glared into her eyes. "Monsters pull all kinds of tricks."

"Unlike you backstabbing humans," she retorted, "we soldiers of the scale are a people of honor." Seeing that he was unconvinced, she added, "you said earlier that you knew we were honorable!"

"That was on the battlefield," the knight pulled off his helmet and set it on the table. Almost immediately, she picked it up and began polishing the metal with a cloth pulled from a pouch on her apron. His stomach grumbled again. That stew did smell quite good, he could see hunks of vegetables and meat floating in the brown broth, and those eggs were cooked just the way he liked them. Ever-vigilant, he pushed the stew pot back toward her, along with the spoon. "You take the first bite."

"You want me to chew it for you too?" asked the lizard girl with a derisive flick of her tail. She rolled her eyes and sighed, then put down the helmet, pocked the cloth, and scooped up a hearty spoonful of the stew. Blowing gently on it, she lifted the spoon to her mouth and popped it in, curling her tongue around the utensil to ensure nothing splattered on the tabletop. Chewing twice, she swallowed, then smiled at him with glimmering gold eyes. "See? No poison." Reaching out, she sliced one of the eggs and scooped it onto the spoon. Steam rose from the opened white, and the barely-still-gooey yolk wobbled as she raised it to her lips. Once again her tongue flicked out, pulling the spoon and food into her mouth. She drew out the spoon and chewed slowly, then suddenly lunged forward, locked lips with him, and kissed hard. He gasped in surprise, enabling her to press the food into his mouth with her tongue as she deepened the kiss. The flavors of the egg, especially the rich yolk, blossomed across his tastebuds and wiped away all memory of the disgusting rotgut. Against his better judgment, he swallowed. She continued to kiss him for several long seconds, then pulled away with her eyes still shut. For just an instant, a line of saliva licked their two lips before her tongue swept it into her mouth. The lizard-girl panted softly, each deep breath swelling her bosom against the apron. She held the spoon limply between a finger and thumb of one claw, while the fringe around her ears was fully erect. Her eyes fluttered open, and a silly smile spread across her face. "Ahh... ah... my first kiss." The lizard-girl shook her tail happily, as if kissing had a far deeper meaning than merely pressing lips together. "If you kiss me like that every day, I might just keep cooking these good meals for you."

"You're a loon," he grumbled, snatching the spoon from her talons and digging into the soup. "Where did you even get the fixings for this?"

Frowning, she folded her claws together and rolled her eyes. "Well, it's rabbit stew, and you had the vegetables downstairs. As for the eggs, they're from wild geese, got them from the forest too." She smiled. "It's basic woodscraft, silly. Not... not all of us have a whole village farming and milking cows and stuff for us." The lizard-girl's smile faded a little. "We have to make do with what we can get."

The knight shoveled more eggs into his mouth to meet the demands of his angry, seemingly empty stomach. "Doesn't taste like poison."

She glared at him and huffed. "As if I'd stoop so low. Eeesh! My people are worthy warriors on the homefront too, as you'll soon find out, husband." The silly smile returned as she licked her lips. Running her claws down her sides, she giggled just a little. "Underneath that armor, you're actually kinda cute. Not that I'm easily swayed by that kind of thing! You won fair and square, you beat me at my best after lots of others failed." She reached out and touched his armored arm. "A-all the same, I'm glad you're not... well, there have been a few I'd really have hated to lose to. Not that any of them came close, of course." The scaly warrior crossed her arms and leaned back proudly in her chair. With a shake of his head, the knight continued scooping stew out of the pot. "I... I mean, not on their own. One sort of did, but he wasn't playing fair. I'd beaten him, but he had some goons jump me, and... um..." She blushed red, and her eyes flashed. "I... I'll never forget the way his hands felt on my skin. If I hadn't had that dagger in my leggings..." The lizard girl shook herself. "But it's okay! They're all dead now, very dead, I made sure of that, and you're here." She poked him lightly in the shoulder. "And after you're finished eating this nice hot meal, you're going to tell me how much you love me, then you're going to take me in those big, strong arms and carry me to your bed-"

"No."

Her attitude deflated immediately. "B-but I'm your wife! It's your duty to breed me, don't you humans know how that works? You... um, we cuddle up and kiss... then... uh..." She blushed. "And then bam! I'm pregnant, and it's happily ever after. Don't tell me your parents never told you about that!" The lizard-girl's tail swayed back and forth, hanging lower than it had before. "I... I mean, it's not like your mother and father were... well, not all the humans are nice. You wouldn't know, all your life you've lived in this same village with these same people. Half of them probably don't even lock their doors at night!" She hugged her tail against her bosom, eyes downcast. "You... didn't have to look after your mother's eggs all alone while hiding from the fire-men..." Her golden eyes blurred with tears for a second, then she blinked them away and heaved a deep breath. "You've had this nice, safe village to protect all your life, and you've never had to forage for food while starving and dehydrated, or chew for your little brothers and sisters because you couldn't give milk." She slammed the tabletop with a fist, hard enough to rattle the pan and bowl. "I... I'll be a good wife for you, better than all those other women who were trying to marry you tonight at the celebration!"

"You were there?" he asked in surprise, spoon hesitating halfway to his mouth. She froze for a second, then nodded.

"At... at the back. In a cloak. Nobody noticed me." The lizard-girl huffed a sigh, then straightened up. "I mean, I evaded detection because of my infiltration skills! Y-yeah... not like I was going to come up to you and... and ask you to take responsibility and marry me in front of everyone, but I chickened out. B-because I'm not a chicken, I just... I... it wasn't tactically advantageous to... you were drunk... um..." Her cheeks were bright red, and she hid her face behind her claws. The two rings on their leather cord hung prominently just above her breasts. "I'm a good mother, I know I am. I've had to be. But... but now I want to be a mother for my own children, instead of having to mother my siblings." She looked up at him, golden eyes full of hope. "P-please. I've fought a lot of strong warriors, but you're... you're not just a strong warrior, you're a protector. You'd make a good father, I know you would. Would you... could you be the father of my children?"


	3. Pass Forward

She stood at the sink, washing out the pot and pan, occasionally throwing glances back at him and wiggling her tail. The knight held his head in one hand, fingers running through his short hair. From behind, it was easy to see her shapely hips and thick thighs, while the undersides of her full breasts were also quite pronounced as she cleaned his eating utensils. The fire crackled peacefully in the pit, smoke drawn away by the flue. He had to admit, she did look ready for breeding with that confident sway in her hips, and her back was just as well-toned as the rest of her muscles. The lizard-girl was certainly a cut above what he was used to seeing in this village. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to hold her in his arms, feel her skin against his, raise children with her. Then he put such thoughts away. He was a knight, a servant of the working class, not some hot-blooded young man led by his own greed and lust. She was a distraction from his state-appointed purpose. Rising from the chair, he took the few steps needed to stand next to her in the small room, and forced an uncertain smile. "What is your name?"

"Natmi," her smile was dazzling as she turned the bowl over in her claws. "And they call you Eisen, yes? I heard them shouting that at the celebration."

The knight nodded. "Thank you for the meal, Natmi. You were an honorable opponent in our duel." She brightened at the praise, the fringe around her ears flaring slightly as she blushed. "But it is time for you to go."

Rubbing her hands on the towel, the lizard-girl turned fully to him. Taller than the average human female, but well-proportioned especially where men liked it, she was able to look him right in the eyes. Despite her tail, scales, claws, webbed fringe, and all the other little quirks that made her a monster, not to mention those slitted pupils, she had a surprisingly human face. Especially those lips. He swallowed hard as she stepped forward, pressing herself against his front. Though he was still armored everywhere except for his head, despite the rents she had torn in his protection, he felt the weight of her body on his breastplate. More importantly, he couldn't miss the way her bosom squished against the metal, and as a man he could not help but imagine how good those soft breasts would feel in his hands. Especially since he had never felt a woman's breasts before, not even those of his own mother when he was an infant. Her light brown hair, tied back with ribbons looped in what had to be ceremonial bows, smelled faintly of strawberries.

"It's cold outside..." was all she said before putting her head against his armored shoulder and wrapping her arms around his upper chest.

"Well, it's late fall, that's only to be expected." He put his hands on her waist and tried to push her away gently.

"What kind of knight are you, kicking a young, vulnerable female out into the cold?" She glared up at him with angry tears in her eyes. "Especially your wife!"

"You are not my wife," the young man said firmly. "You cannot be my wife. The state will assign me a wife when-"

"Your sword assigned you a wife!" The lizard-girl's claws cupped his face, her fringe fully flared out and golden eyes blazing. "What kind of a man are you who doesn't take responsibility for the damage he does with his blade?"

"Damage?" he said in confusion, his hands slipping down to her hips without him noticing. "You're in better shape than I am. Have you healed already?"

"Of course my body's fine," she rolled her eyes and flicked her tail to one side dismissively. "I'm a soldier of the scale, I can regrow my own tail if it's chopped off in battle. Healing wounds is simple. I'm also not one of those idiot weeping-women who brings her husband the last of her supplies and then moans about it." The lizard-girl grinned wide, showing off her sharp teeth. "I ate well on my hunt earlier, and still had enough to feed you, darling." Raising a leg, she bent it at the knee and held his waist against hers while remaining balanced with the help of her twitching tail. "All I want, all I need, is for you to take me to your bed." Her claws seized upon one of his arm guards, easily pulling off what remained of the metal. "So hurry up and get this armor off, you won't need heavy plate for our next sparring match!"

"I-" His armguard hit the floor. She moved quickly to the opposite arm and unbuckled that one as well. "But-" Next came his gauntlets, as well as the gloves beneath, revealing his bare hands. The lizard-girl moved up his arms, stripping off his protective plating and pauldrons with experienced claws, letting them lay where they fell on the floor. "You-" She kissed him again, full on the lips, which confused him long enough for her to lift his breastplate, her tugs on the armor persuading him to raise his arms before he thought better of it. Over his head and onto the floor went the heavy armor. Down to only his padded undergarment on his upper body, he grabbed at her in desperation and found his hands on her tail. "Listen to me, you aggressive little... why are you moaning?"

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes half lidded as his hands rubbed down her tail, closer and closer toward the base. She clung to him, claws digging into the pads on his shoulders. Her long tongue flicked up the side of his neck as she groaned. "Mmm... that's right, m-make me feel good... keep going..." The lizard-girl's apron pressed against his front, and he felt her breasts against his chest. Hard nipples pressed through the thin cloth and padding that separated their bodies. "Y-you've already kissed me, so I'll probably get pregnant, but... but keep going!"

Seeing that he had an advantage over her, the young knight stepped toward the door, intending to throw her out into the night and barricade himself inside. She moved surprisingly well on one leg, but somehow she was guiding him toward the stairs leading to the basement instead of the door. He stopped abruptly and squeezed the underside of her tail, stroking his fingers along her pale, ribbed scales instead of the overlapping green ones that covered most of the surprisingly flexible appendage. Her claws ran down his back, searching for how to open his padding. The young knight felt his mind clearing of the alcohol, at least he thought it was clearing, as the food began to settle well in his stomach. Just what did this little newt-woman think she was doing, harassing him like this? Pressing their sides against the wall for stability, he continued to squeeze and stroke her tail. She was sensitive there, that much was evident from the way she moaned. "Attack my village, threaten my people, then invade my home, will you?"

"W-what'cha gonna do about it, Eisen?" she asked with half-lidded eyes while her claws pulled at his remaining metal protective plates, stripping them off as if they were merely a pair of trousers and letting the pieces fall where they would. "G-gonna put me in my place?" The lizard-girl wiggled her hips against him and lightly kissed at his cheek. "S-show me what you expect from your wife?" Her back arched, pressing her front fully against him as his fingers circled the base of her tail. "Get a good handful there, s-see if you're man enough to go all the way."

That was the last straw. "Man enough? I've bested you in battle!"

"Best me in bed too," she whispered into his ear, "make me pregnant. It-it's not like I want to be your trophy wife or anything, nothing but an egg-bellied conquest who spars with you between batches of your young so everyone can see how mighty a knight you are. I'm doing this for the good of my race and to keep my honor!" The lizard-girl's voice was rebellious, but her begging eyes told the real story. Faced with both a challenge and a plea for aid, the knight's will to resist finally crumbled beneath her siege. New strength filled his arms.

"Trophy wife? For everyone to see? Ha!" he growled, "I'll keep you in the kitchen where you belong, lizard-girl!"

Her eyes gleamed, she offered her lips again, and he kissed her fiercely. Pushing her shoulders against the wall, he felt her tail curl around his knees as she wrapped both her legs around his waist. Their tongues curled around each other, hers much longer and more flexible but his stronger. She deepened the kiss, pulling his tongue into her mouth and stroking it with hers, one claw running through his hair while the other squeezed his shoulder. He cupped her muscular rump with one hand, stroking the underside of her tail with the other, and to his surprise felt her start to shake in his arms. The lizard-girl moaned into their kiss, hugging her legs tighter around his waist as she stiffened, then went slack against him. Her claw slid down the back of his neck, and her head slumped onto his shoulder. A dreamy look filled her eyes. "I... oh, that was so good... I have to be... be pregnant now..."

The young knight was not very experienced with women, but even he knew what she was saying wasn't entirely right. Still, what a kiss! Holding her so she would not fall onto the floor, he continued to rub her tail and make her shiver. "That isn't how girls get pregnant. Why would kisses make babies?"

"Unf?" Natmi's eyes turned to look up at him. "That's how it works. You make each other feel really good, and there's some moaning, then she's pregnant... I... Hey, how do you know, have you done this before?"

"Well no," he admitted, "but-" 

Her eyes lit up, and a worried expression crossed her face. "Oh! I know what's wrong, I'm supposed to make you feel really good too, otherwise it won't work!" She slapped her forehead with a palm and unwound her legs from his waist.


	4. Cracks in the Armor

Her claws peeled the knight out of the remains of his padding and armor, poking him in the chest whenever she needed him to back up. Soon a trail of clothes and metal lay on the floor and she was pressing his naked body against the opposite wall. His hard erection throbbed against her apron. She looked down at it, curious, then curled a claw around his manhood. Well aware of what her talons could do to heavy armor, he winced and shook his head, then moaned as her gentle touch soothed his fears. "I'm not gonna hurt you, dummy. Eeesh, you really think the worst of me, don't you? If I hurt you, how am I supposed to make you feel good so I get pregnant?" The lizard-girl's palm had a unique feeling against his skin, as though she was dribbling water filled with thousands of smooth pebbles across his sensitive shaft. Her ridged scales seemed smoother than human skin, yet whenever she squeezed he felt a mild roughness. So that was how she held her sword so firmly in combat. Much like how the underside of her tail was softer to the touch and more sensitive than the hardened upper, her claws seemed capable of far more than just ruining his armor. "If I tear apart everything I grab, how do you think I raised my siblings, huh?"

Laying her head against his shoulder, she explored his upper body with one claw and his groin with the other. "Wasn't easy, you know. We're not supposed to raise kids alone. It isn't a one-lizardman kind of job, not like running off a party of weak adventurers. And I... I couldn't..." Her breasts pressed against his front through the apron, pert and young, sizable though never swelled by milk. "But... well, there weren't any others of my kind left after..." The lizard-girl bit her lip. Bad memories flickered behind her eyes and played out across her face. "A-anyway, I can be gentle, mister scaredy-knight." To prove her point, she walked her scaly fingers around to his upper back and began kneading his sore trapezius with the same talons that had made rents in the back of his armor earlier in the day. "See? They're not razors, dummy. It's all about how hard I strike." He nodded. She began working his shaft with her other claw, that feeling of smooth pebbles flowing along his length. The sensation was almost unreal to him, his body unsure of how to react at first. Then she shyly ran her thumb over his glans while looking into his eyes with that cute expression of forced confidence, and the knight decided that he liked it very much.

"You're more than a monster," he said quietly. The admission was not easy for him, that much she could tell from the way his heart pounded against his chest. For all his life, the knight had fought creatures like her to protect his fellow humans. The commissars had told him since he was a boy that all monsters, even those who might appear to be almost human or possess some capacity for kindness, could never be anything more than enemies of the state. In this moment however, he was questioning many of the things the commissars seemed so certain of. Their booming voices and proud rhetoric seemed as distant in this moment as their fat bodies, while her battle-scarred skin was pressed against his own and the meal she had cooked for him sat well in his belly. How bad would it be to have her as his partner in war... and in love?

"Now you're starting to talk sense. Took long enough." The lizard-girl kissed him again, her tail curling up one of his arms and the press of her breasts holding him against the wall. This close, it was easy to see the subtle distinctions of her tanlines and jade markings. With her scars, they gave the lizard-girl a unique identity that he was beginning to find alluring. The skin usually underneath her armor was noticeably paler than her shoulders. How many years she had wandered the wilds, fighting and scavenging to survive, sleeping in her armor beneath whatever shelter she could find or make? Experience like that toughened the body and disciplined the mind, he knew from personal experience. Clearly she knew much about the world, or so he thought, until... "What is this, anyway? Is this your tail?" The lizard-girl continued to stroke his hard rod. "Humans have weird tails. I've seen minotaurs with these poking out from under their loincloths, but minotaurs have tails in the back too."

"It's not a tail, it's..." he groaned as her claw unabashedly fondled his balls, the sheer terror at her talons' touch barely muted by the obvious care she took to not hurt him. The knight pulled the lizard-girl against him and felt her coo happily into his chest. "It's something that guys have, something that makes them feel really good when it's treated right."

"Huh." She lifted his captive hand to her lips with her tail and shyly began sucking on his fingers, curling her tongue around them as she thought. The act brought a smile to his face, despite her scars and muscle she looked so cute while nibbling along his hands. He was also glad he'd washed them. Long and seemingly prehensile, her tongue seemed just as strong as her tail as she bent his fingers back and forth curiously. "You aren't lying to me, are you?" The lizard-girl kissed him lightly on the lips, pressing the leather cord and its two rings against his bare chest with the gesture. "That'd be a horrible thing to do to your wife."

"I... we're not..." He sighed and shook his head in exasperation. She was just going to keep driving and driving until he said yes, wasn't she? "I'm not lying. I... I'm surprised you don't know this, given how eager you are."

Fear flickered across her face, not the terror of battle that all warriors learned to suppress but the fear he sometimes saw in the commissars when a lowly peasant asked why, if all were equal, some seemed more equal than others in this workers' paradise. She pulled away from him a little, blushing. "H-hey, maybe I'm just testing you, ever think of that?" The lizard-girl's golden eyes narrowed. "Don't be so cocky! Now I'm gonna make you feel really good, so be sure and get me pregnant, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she let go of his arms and slid down to his waist, her eyes level with his throbbing manhood. He groaned as she exhaled onto the tip. It had been quite some time since he had... well, given vent to his male urges. The drudgery of day to day life could quickly sap a man's will, even that of a young, virile knight like him. Not to mention that such things were quietly frowned upon by the political officers. A man's joy should come from service to the Party. Through the Party he served the Politburo, and through the Politburo, he served the People. This girl, this... Natmi, was an enemy. Yet she was trying to aid him, not kill him, in defiance of all that the commissars' assurances.

He was a knight, a protector, he was not meant to engage in wild sexual congress like the profligate capitalist pigs who wallowed in their own filth and ate food stolen from the mouths of their unrepresented laborers' children. Capitalist warriors expected a celebration of their strength with feasting and whoring after a victory, rather than the far superior communal rally where a victorious warrior assured the working class that he was merely fulfilling the will of the state. There would be no need of a government eventually, once all was set to right and the issue of class struggle came to a decisive end, but until then he had to remember that he was the servant of the workers. The commissars were careful to remind him of his place whenever he erred, and also spoke with hurried reverence about the day when their own service to the state would no longer be needed so that they could join their fellow workers in hard manual labor. That day seemed so ephemeral as the lizard-girl pressed him against the wall. Her soft kisses, her inquisitive touch, the way those ribbons on her tail and in her hair waggled as she moved, were leading him down a dangerous road. Was he a man, a proud knight who cast aside the wicked trappings of personal glory in favor of complete reliance on the state, or a slave to the capitalist pigs' sins of gluttony, greed, lust, and ultimately wrath toward his fellow workers?

Such thoughts floated through his mind, each a good reason why he should tell her to stop. He should carry her to the door and throw her out, or if they were going to engage in any lewd acts, he should ensure they were only for the purposes of procreation. Yet as he looked down at the kneeling lizard-girl and saw the fear in her eyes, he knew how she would react if he took the initiative right now. Picking her up, pulling away her clothes, roughly taking her and filling her unprepared body with his seed while she squirmed in confusion, the idea teased at the edges of his thoughts as something the political officers would approve of. Yet even if she claimed to want his children, would such aggression not be tantamount to... it would. He was not that kind of man. Her gentle touch and nervous kisses down his chest, the way she flicked her tongue against his length and giggled at the way he twitched in reaction, these were not the acts of someone experienced in sexual intercourse. He was not very experienced himself, but he would not hurt her. The thought of her body sprawled across the tabletop, cheeks wet with tears and blood leaking from between her legs while he brusquely explained this was what she had asked for turned his stomach. He swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling, heart torn.

"Hey, pay attention!" The lizard-girl stroked his shaft more aggressively, kissing down the side and smearing her spittle with her palm. "I'm doing this for you, idiot. The least you could do is look at me." She rolled her eyes and indignantly twitched the fringe around her ears before kissing at his glans. He groaned in pleasure and felt his spine stiffen as soon as those lips touched his tip, wet with saliva and eager to please. It was too much to resist. He thrust forward the tiniest bit and felt her lips wrap around his manhood while her surprised tongue rubbed along the underside of his glans. For a brief instant he also felt her teeth, two rows of pearly white choppers that his lust-addled mind had not considered, and thought he had made a terrible mistake. Terror clenched his scrotum as he tried to reverse course. Then the pressure of two hard ridges against the top and bottom of his length faded, replaced by a ball-tingling sensation as she pressed his butt against the wall and slid forward, accepting him into her mouth and sucking curiously while continuing to stroke with a scaly claw.

Despite her stern front, she was exploring his body, just as interested in his male parts as he was about her claws and tail. Such curiosity justified a little unusual, perhaps even selfish, activity, didn't it? The commissars would not object to him pacifying this monster... no, this monster-girl, with a different form of sword. He was once more acting as the shield of the working class, bearing the brunt of her assault after having drawn her interest with a heroic display on the field of battle. She placed one claw on his stomach, then opened her mouth wide and curled her tongue around his shaft from tip to base in one swift motion. Eisen groaned in pleasure and sagged against the wall, running his fingers through her hair. Yes, he was certain now, this was part of his duty! The ribbon-loops wobbled as she began to bob her head, slurping noisily when she saw how he shivered at the sound. A beautiful warrior-woman, on her knees before him and thinking only of pleasing his manhood. Never had he even dreamed of such a thing. Her tail twitched back and forth behind her, his eyes following it in an almost hypnotized daze. She was acting on instinct, that much was evident from her cautious motions and shy glances upward to gauge his reaction, but even her uncertain efforts were amazing to a man accustomed to squeezing out his cum with a hand lubed in animal fat.


	5. Breakthrough

Her tongue slithered around his shaft like a serpent, while her lips alternated between kissing his glans and sucking along his length. When she saw how much he was enjoying her efforts, the lizard-girl spread her knees apart and arched her tail, balancing herself as though she was preparing to hold a bridge against a wave of enemies. His knees sagged, but she kept him pinned against the wall with a claw on his abdominals while her other claw fondled his balls and stroked his thighs. Her lips moved along the underside of his shaft, then across the top, hesitantly kissing while her tongue squeezed as if it had a mind of its own. Unlike her tender kisses from lips that felt quite human, Natmi's tongue was dominant and strange, teasing him as it wound around his length. The combination was heavenly, but it was the cute little noises she made and the way her eyes would widen as she looked up at him that really made the moment special. She seemed to be asking if she was doing a good job while her mouth was full of his manhood. He stroked her hair and nodded in answer, lost in those golden eyes. The lizard-girl kept trying to take more and more of his shaft into her mouth after seeing how much pleasure that gave the knight, but abruptly had to pull her head away and cough.

"Don't..." he started to say, worried she might choke. The last thing he wanted was for her to hurt herself, especially while trying to... yes, now he thought about it, he did care about her. He didn't want to see her gasping for breath. "You don't have to-"

"I-" she coughed again, "I'm fine." The lizard-girl heaved in more air, then coughed onto the back of a claw while the fringe around her ears deflated slightly. "If you're gonna talk, at... at least say thank you. I'm only doing this because you're an honest husband, you know." Her eyes softened as she rubbed the weary muscles of his abdomen with a claw. Resting her head against his thigh, she took a few deep breaths to clear her airway. "I've never... I mean, I've seen it. This. Before." Natmi coughed again, tongue reeling out then back into her mouth. "You wouldn't believe what the minotaurs get up to in camp. Keeping them in line is... it's a job. If they weren't worthwhile on the battlefield I wouldn't put up with them." She swallowed hard, voice still a little raspy. "They rely too much on their strength, though. Get in under their guard, and..."

"And they fall down like a rotted tree," Eisen finished for her, stroking her hair while she caught her breath. He had fought the towering, horned beasts before.

"Y-yeah. They stopped challenging me pretty quick." The lizard-girl grinned up at him, her tail twitching happily. "Good thing, t-too. I mean, if one of them had won, I'd never have met you." She kissed the side of his manhood and caressed the shaft fondly with a palm. "I... I've never done this before. Not for anyone else, not ever. So... so be grateful, okay? I'm not some minotaur's girl, I'm... I'm your wife, and I'm going to take good care of my husband." Her oval pupils flicked downward, looking at the ground, as though she didn't have the courage to watch his reaction.

"We're not..." His voice caught in his throat. Staring down at the blushing lizard-girl, he realized how desperate she must feel in this moment. Orphaned by the deaths of her parents, abandoned by her army, and rejected by the man who had proven himself worthy in combat to be her spouse. They shouldn't be doing this, he should tell her to stop and make her understand why she had to, before they went any further. He couldn't keep protesting while letting her have her way. The knight tried to set aside how good it felt when she wrapped her tongue around his penis, when she kissed and hugged him, or how good that meal had tasted. How close was he to losing his way, to turning his back on the state that had provided for him since birth? He had not even nursed at his mother's breasts, the state had mandated that he be bottle-fed so as to ensure he understood even as an infant that they were his sole source of fulfillment. This lizard-girl had come to him, fought well and long in battle, and now was offering everything she was if only he would pledge to face life's struggles at her side. He needed to stop her, to get rid of her, but as he stroked her head, felt that flare around her ears rise as she began to trill contentedly, all he wanted to do was hold her. Wouldn't it be nice if he had someone else who he could truly rely on, a companion who understood his warrior's heart because one also beat within her? If she was his wife, he would be better able to serve the state and protect the people of this village. They were who he truly fought for. Yes, even the piggish ones, not the puffed-up commissars.

Before he reached a decision, she was once more on the attack. This time she took a sizable measure of his length into her mouth, cheeks caved in around his shaft while her tongue continued to squeeze. Staring down at her, he saw the way her boobs jiggled inside the apron with each bob of her head, and how her strong thighs rocked her body back and forth. She was not just using her neck, but moving her entire torso as she stroked his shaft with her long tongue while enveloping him with her mouth. Her claws held him against the wall and caressed his balls, that feeling of pebbles in water so good against his scrotum. Eisen let out a low groan as he guided her pace with a hand in her hair. The leather cord bound around those two silver rings bounced on her neck, along with the chain holding her identification tags. Her tail swayed as a counterweight, ensuring that even when she pulled back until only her puckered lips were kissing his tip she did not fall over. She knew her limits better now, and the lizard-girl was feeling out his limits just like she had when they crossed blades earlier today. This time she had a far more advantageous position, holding him at bay with one claw to prevent any possible counter-attack. He felt his resistance crumbling, replaced a by basic instinct to pick her up, pull that green thong aside, and fill her with his seed. Not just tonight, but every night, until her gravid belly proclaimed to all that she was his... his... his wife.

As she sucked and squeezed him, trilling softly and occasionally pulling back for a deep breath when inexperience led her to over-commit, he clenched one fist and tightened his abs. Thoughts ran through his head, visions of what could be. Her sitting behind him on his horse, arms around him and her head on his shoulder, the lizard-girl's pregnant belly and milk-swelled breasts proclaiming to all the villagers that the next generation of their protectors grew inside her. Was she not a warrior, a strong female who would bear him strong children? The commissars could not deny their protector this, there must be some precedent they could cite. She wanted him, she was worthy of him, he... he wanted her. Eisen's stomach froze and balls tightened at that traitorous thought, but the constant fondling from her claws quickly soothed his terror. The lizard-girl was making it hard to think. He saw her in his mind as she was on the battlefield earlier today, full of zest and fire, each blow as quick as lightning and as stunning as thunder. As his eyes watched the ribbons in her hair and on her tail flutter along with her unskilled but eager fellatio, he saw her as he wanted her. Excited, eyes full of hope, a wide smile on her face as she clung to him.

They could be happy together. He could hold her in his arms, both exhausted after a battle, peeling away each other's armor as they stepped into a natural spring. She eager to please, he eager to hear her moan in pleasure, water coursing over their tired bodies as they made love and whispered compliments to each other about their combat performance. Afterward, they would cuddle together on the grass, whispering compliments about an entirely different sort of performance. Just the two of them. The knight wanted that, wanted it so badly he felt as though he was about to burst. He was not wise in the ways of women, but he knew what needed to be done to impregnate her. It was basic instinct, and as he stared down into her eyes and felt her talons tap gently against the weary muscles of his body, he knew that same instinct was stirring inside the lizard-girl. Perhaps she was uncertain about all the particulars, but they would figure those out together. He felt a great need awakening inside him, something long repressed. An ache in his back caused him to roll his shoulders as he straightened his legs, shrugging against the wall of the one-room hovel he had been assigned by the state. Patting her head, he smiled as she continued to suck and lick. No, she wasn't a skilled seductress, but she had fought her way into his heart. He was already seeing her in his bed, on her back, so much cum inside her that it was leaking out while she frantically tried to push it back in with her talons. That was what his wife deserved. Somehow he felt lighter inside.

That happy look on her face while she slobbered all over his length, the way her tongue curled and twitched... it was too much. "Natmi!" groaned the knight, vision blurring just a little as he tried to hold back what she was trying to suck out, "p-pull away, I'm going to..." Realizing that she probably didn't know what the word cum meant, he desperately tried to think of what to say before it was too late. His eyes fixed on her tanlines, those distinctions in skin tone that were just as obvious as her scars. He saw her breasts jiggling beneath the apron, felt her tongue squeezing him like no human woman's could, and heard those little moans she made while trying to fit as much of him into her mouth as possible while hollowing her cheeks around his shaft. The knight felt the ache in his scrotum intensify. Her gentle cupping and fondling, never hard enough to hurt, seemed to stir the seed in his testes just like she had stirred that delicious soup. "Something's coming out, it won't taste good. I-it's not, uh... excrement, b-but it doesn't go..."

He groaned as she looked up at him, her golden eyes full of trust. How could she look at him like that, only this afternoon they had fought as bitter enemies! "It won't hurt you, it just won't... taste... ohhh..." Her tongue curled tighter, squirming around his glans before slithering down to his base. She pressed her head forward, taking his full shaft. He would almost swear that he could feel the back of her throat squeezing around his tip, but surely she couldn't have managed that. Those snake-like eyes and that swaying tail made him think of a serpent swallowing its prey, but the talons tapping against his abdomen and cupping his balls were undoubtedly lizard-like. Wasn't the snake just a lizard cursed to go about on its belly? He couldn't remember, not now, not like this, his mind was blank except for thoughts of her. The warrior who had declared herself his wife had no idea what she was doing, acting completely on instinct that told her to please her husband, willing to endure any shame or discomfort. Forcibly unclenching his teeth, he heaved a deep breath as that pebble-stream of smoothness hefted his balls. She wasn't even trying to be erotic, merely a curious lizard-girl who was mystified by her husband's anatomy.

The knight's fingers trembled in her hair as he placed his other hand over the claw she pressed against his abdomen. She twisted her wrist, sliding her ridged yet surprisingly smooth palm against his. Her talons laced between his fingers, and he felt her hardened knuckles against his stomach. Squeezing her claw, Eisen moaned her name as the first spurt came. The lizard-girl's eyes widened in surprise, but she swallowed greedily, tongue loosening only to continue squeezing after each burst of cum. Each squeeze seemed to milk out more of his seed, while her eyes pleaded for him to give her everything he had, to let her bring him as much pleasure as she could. His head slumped back against the wall as her throat bulged with each swallow. He clutched her hand against his abdomen, feeling her scales against his midriff and her ridges against his palm. A sense of closeness and shared affection filled him, something he'd sought for a very long time.

They belonged together. He understood now. Eisen stroked her light brown hair, blinking back tears as she pulled her head away from his softening length. Her tongue unwound and retracted into her mouth, covered with his sticky white seed, but none escaped her lips. The knight felt like he had cum his balls dry, and his brain was filled with fuzz as if she had landed a solid blow right on his helmet. Gooey strands of cum still clung to her teeth and lips, though she quickly gathered it all with her tongue and swallowed. On the sides of her head, that webbed green flare around her ears was fully extended, and her eyes sparkled with joy. Licking her teeth one last time, she trilled happily while leaning back on her haunches. The expression on her face said it all, this wasn't a one-time attempt to win his compliance. From the meal she had prepared to the green and gold trimmed apron she had gotten from somewhere, this was what the lizard-girl believed wives did for their husbands and she intended to continue... if only he accepted her, wanted to have a family with her, took her as his... his wife. He saw that, and also saw the fear that he would throw her out, leave her in the mud outside his house just as he had left her in the mud on the battlefield earlier today.

With his head back against the wall, he could feel that the rain had begun again. Questions filled his mind as he stared down at her. What would she do if he said no, continue to pester him and claim that she was his spouse? Would she sit outside in the rain, weeping and knocking against the door, begging him not to treat his wife so shamefully? When the morning came, would she be waiting outside, a hopeful look on her face and breakfast cooked over a fire-pit ready for him, willing to forgive everything if only he would make her an honest woman? One final question weakened his knees. He sank down the wall, sat on the floor and stared her right in the eyes when their heads were level. If he threw her out right now, would he find her outside his front door in the morning, having taken his refusal as a permanent one and fallen back on the final recourse of dishonored warriors?

Commissars or no commissars, he couldn't bear to think of that. Reaching forward, Eisen gathered the lizard-girl into his arms and hugged her close. Natmi trilled softly in his ear, snuggling against him as though he was the only warmth she had found amidst a very cold, very lonesome trudge through life.


	6. Encirclement

Wind against the shack was the only sound for a few moments, whistling through the cracks in the wood. He slept downstairs so the wind would not yank his sheets off in the middle of the night, even though water did sometimes leak into the tomb-like basement. Right now he barely noticed the wind. The happy lizard-girl in his lap, her scaly fingers wrapped around his upper body and her tail swaying across the ground, was a pleasant distraction.

"You felt good," she asked at last, "didn't you? Minotaurs only let out that stuff when they're feeling really good. I saw them with other females sometimes." Natmi nuzzled his cheek and pursed her lips, begging for a kiss. The knight couldn't deny her. Pressing his lips against hers, he was surprised to find almost no salty, bitter taste in her mouth. She'd swallowed all his cum as though she was starving. He narrowed his eyes and pulled away.

"Did you really eat before coming here?"

The lizard-girl glanced downward and rubbed her claws together nervously. "I... um... mostly, yes." She glanced up into his face, the fringe on the sides of her head only half-extended so as not to poke his cheeks. "Healing wounds takes a lot out of a girl. A-and really, do you think I... I'm gonna waste something my husband gives me? You said it wasn't..." The word he had used did not quite seem to fit on her prehensile tongue, much to her consternation. "Wasn't icky stuff, were you lying to me?" Her golden eyes glared at him, cheeks slightly red.

"No, no, it's not... it's not something you can't eat, it isn't poison." Now the knight was blushing too. Her skin pressed against his, the side of her soft breast against his chest, those apron straps hugging her muscular shoulders as the two warriors cuddled together in a heap against the wall. It was all too much. "But... I don't think most women like the taste."

"Taste. Bah!" Natmi rolled her eyes. "No wonder you humans huddle in your villages, if your females don't want to get pregnant just because of a silly thing like that." Smiling, the lizard-girl tapped him on the chin with a talon and moved one of his hands onto her cleavage. "You're lucky to have a fighter like me as your wife. Most of those women at the celebration looked like they wouldn't even be able to parry a child's strike! What would they do if someone attacked their home while their husband was away, hmm? Scream and run, leaving their children to die?" She shook her head and tapped his with her knuckles. "You'd better be grateful, understand?"

"I... I understand," he nodded slowly. "Thank you, Natmi." The knight stroked her brown hair, worrying one of the ribbons with two fingers, and she chirped happily while continuing to hold his other hand against her breasts. He took the hint and gave a light squeeze, feeling the mammaries he had struggled to look away from during their duel earlier. Even through her armor he had noticed them, and even through the apron they were soft and welcoming of his touch. Eisen felt a tingle run through his limp loins as her thighs squirmed in his lap. "Aren't these a bit of a bother to you," he moved his other hand down to grope both her breasts through the cloth, "when you're fighting, I mean?" Natmi turned, body sliding across his as she moved, leaning her back against him to better let him explore her front. Her eyes rolled toward the ceiling, somewhere between exasperated laziness and joyful release. "They're so big," he slid his hands beneath her apron, half-expecting her to slap him even though she had been so forward. This went against much of his indoctrination, he shouldn't be able to touch her body so freely, yet he wanted to and she seemed to want him to. The moment was between him and her, nothing else mattered. He seized her bare breasts. For the first time in his life, he had been raised on a bottle like all protectors of the realm, he felt a female's nipples. Hard, begging to be squeezed. When he did she licked his neck and gave a happy little moan. "You're so sensitive here too."

"T-that's why I wear armor on my chest, idiot." The lizard-girl shook her head as he continued to squeeze and pinch. He marveled at how yielding her breasts were at his touch, yet they seemed so firm too, full of youthful stubbornness just like the rest of her. She squeaked as he kissed at the nape of her neck, hands kneading her more roughly now. The knight could hardly believe that this was real, that she was his, not just right now but until death did them part. Between the two of them, death would have quite the fight on its hands when it finally came knocking. "Don't stop." He complied with a will, kissing her on the mouth again as he tugged her nipples outward. Natmi's back arched, and he felt her hips shift in his lap. She began to grind her thong against him, one of her claws curling around to cradle the back of his head and the other creeping downward. To the knight it was obvious that she was quite aroused, not only full of a virgin's unreleased need but also fired up from sucking a mouthful of cum out of him. All Natmi knew was that she wanted to feel good, needed to feel good or she was going to go crazy, and it was finally okay to feel good since she was with her husband. Just like a strong sense of honor kept her battle-lust in check until she found a worthy enemy, but once the lizard-girl was in a good fight, she went all-out.

Nervously, she rubbed a talon against her thong, the action disguised but not hidden by her apron's flap. The small of her back arched slightly, pulling away from him as his eager hands caressed her breasts and her searching claw stroked her want through the thong. Brain still fuzzy from her last assault on his manhood, he laughed at how shyly she was trying to pleasure herself while being so forward about trying to please him, then kissed her cheek to calm the lizard-girl's worries. Her breasts felt so good in his hands, just the right size to squeeze and tease. Sensitive too, he could feel her squirm as he enjoyed himself, occasionally yelping when he pinched too tight or trilling when he needed to be more bold. Her talons were moving more noticeably now, stroking beneath the apron. Reaching up, he untied the apron's strings at the back of her neck. The little bow came apart without complaint, and he let the front of her apron fall into her lap. Her talons curled around the back of his head, lacing through his hair as she blushed brighter. Natmi swallowed hard as he leaned her to the side and put his lips to one of her nipples. Sucking gently, he heard her moan as he did what he had not been permitted to as a baby. "J-just nibble a little, not h-hard... l-like... like that, yeah!" The lizard-girl's claws tensed. He hugged her close, supporting her back with his other hand. Her tail curled tighter around the knight, hugging him more completely than any arms ever could.

Her talons moved awkwardly across her thong, lingering around her nub and pressing at her entrance through the fabric. That wasn't enough to sate her for long, though. Fumbling for words, she smiled broadly as a biological imperative she still didn't quite understand dominated her thoughts. The lizard-girl needed to be bred, wanted to see herself with a full belly of this knight's children and breasts ready for nursing them. She had found her mate, now she needed to bear his young and raise them with his help. The look in her lust-filled eyes conveyed this better than her words. "I... I think... um, I think I should make you feel good with my tongue again. J-just to be sure I get pregnant, I mean." She smiled hopefully at him as he moved his lips to her other breast. "You... you want me to get pregnant, right? Then these will have plenty of milk." Natmi moaned softly as his tongue flicked against her nipple. "Enough for our children, and for you." She felt his muscles tense slightly. "That's what you want, right? I mean, you're sucking like you want some milk right now!"

He lifted his mouth and looked away, a hand still pressing into the yielding flesh of her other breast. Embarrassment filled the knight's face. "Sorry..."

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" she said quickly, pulling his head against her cleavage. "Ugh, I'm happy that you like my body. You... do like my body, right?" Her tail constricted slightly around his chest until he nodded. "Good." She sighed in relief. "Of course you do."

Moving off his lap, she slid a claw up his thigh, toward his groin. Her other claw was still rubbing against her thong. While the lizard-girl didn't quite understand why it felt so good to rub there, she knew it had to be okay now. All she had to do was make her husband feel good, maybe feel good herself along the way, then she would become pregnant. Since her parents had died when she was very young, she never had such things explained to her by another of her kind, but she'd caught glimpses of what other monster-folk and humans did to become pregnant. It involved the male feeling really good, especially with minotaurs. In fact, with minotaurs, the female's reaction really didn't matter at all. They could be crying, or pleading, or even saying they didn't want to get pregnant, but the only thing that mattered was if the male felt good and let out lots of that white sticky stuff. Minotaurs squirted that stuff in every hole a woman had, with more everywhere else. The musk was enough to drive most nearby mad with want. They'd tried to use that on her, but she'd fought even though her head wasn't clear. Natmi knew she had to do her best, find a husband truly worthy of her, like... like Eisen. He had fought with courage and honor, he was a good man. She needed to be worthy of him, show him how good of a wife she would be. Then... then he'd take her claw and accept responsibility. She might already be pregnant, he had let out so much of the white sticky stuff, and an honorable man like him wouldn't turn his back on the one who was carrying his children... r-right?

Her claws trembled, and she blinked back tears. Now wasn't the time for fear. She needed to keep the initiative. Natmi gave what she thought to be a very seductive grin, cupped his balls, and said, "So... let me suck another batch of that goo out of you, just to be sure my belly fills up with your children."

He reached out and patted her head yet again. She smiled, rubbing against his hand. Though he didn't understand why, the act seemed to always comfort her a little. On all fours as she was, much of her body was on display to him. The tan-lines from her armor intersected well with those jade markings, especially when he looked at her from this angle. Able to see part of her back as well as her plump bosom and arms, Eisen was able to fully appreciate the work of art cut across her muscular body by scars. Each one had a story, just like his own wounds. They told of a strong warrior who had known many hardships, but finally found something truly worth fighting for. He had to be honest with her. "You... do know that's not how girls get pregnant, right?"

"Of course I know..." Natmi's tail stiffened straight out behind her, and her eyes widened. "Uh... wait, what?" She grabbed him by the shoulders. Panic filled her voice. "What do you mean? That's how it works, we feel really good together, get tired, and afterward everyone says we slept together!" The lizard-girl blinked. "Oh. Ohh, do you mean we need to sleep for it to work? We need to make each other feel so good we fall asleep while hugging, is that it?" She saw him start to chuckle despite his very best efforts to hold in the laughter, which caused her heart to miss a beat as it seemed to plummet inside her chest. "H-hey! Don't laugh at me! I'm right, aren't I? We... we have to be asleep for the stork to come and bring me... um..." He tried to pat her arm, tried to tell her not to worry, but the words could not make it out through his laughter. "And... and then there's a... a bun in the oven..." Tears filled her eyes as he pulled her against him, trying to comfort her while still chuckling. He couldn't help himself, the combination of eagerness and ignorance was too much. She was too cute and too silly all at once. Natmi did not think the same, of course, her voice dropping to a low whimper as he hugged her tight once more, feeling as though she had failed and been cast out into the cold yet again in her life. "Don't laugh at me... please..."

"I'm sorry," the knight tried to suppress his mirth. He wasn't very experienced, but at least he knew how procreation worked. From the way her talons had rubbed against her thong, she knew too, but on an instinctive level. Too many red herrings had been laid across her path. Eisen hugged Natmi tight as he drew in a deep breath, steadying himself. She looked so lovable when she was embarrassed and on the brink of tears, vulnerable instead of aggressively confident, but he already knew he would hate to see her truly crying. "It's..." He stroked her hair. "Don't cry, I'm sorry." She sniffled, angry at herself for the tears. "It's all-right. How about we go downstairs, and I'll show you? It isn't a difficult thing to do."

She looked up at him, chin resting on his shoulder. "You... you do want to have children with me..." Her voice wobbled a little, and her oval pupils stared deep into his soul. "You're not just leading me on... right?"

First he kissed her forehead, nosing a few strands of her light brown hair out of the way. Then he said, "I do."

Her eyes brightened, and her scaly hands rose to the leather cord around her neck. "D-do you really mean that? I mean... really-really, forever?" When he nodded, she unknotted the cord and worked at one of the rings, loosening the leather around it until she could slide the silver ring off. As she pressed the little piece of jewelry into the palm of his hand, he saw that there was indeed a small gemstone worked into the band. Amber, close in color to her eyes, a perfect match to the one in the second ring. Teardrops still clung to her cheeks. Her eyes were wet at the corners. Coughing away from him, she turned back and put on what he presumed to be the best formal expression one could have while sitting nearly naked in the lap of the man whose cum she had just swallowed. "As an honorable soldier of scale, I accept you as my husband." Her eyes flicked from the ring in his right palm to the second silver band she held in a shaking claw near his left hand, then up to his eyes.

"Natmi..." the knight had to ask, "why are you so scared?" Did she think he would reject her at this last moment? He could, the whispers of the commissars were still at the back of his mind, but he had made his choice, and had chosen her.

"I'm not... scared." Her tail went limp, and the fringe around her ears deflated. "Everything good that I've ever had, has... has... I wasn't able to hold onto anything, Eisen. Wasn't good enough." She bit her lip and fixed her eyes on the silver band in his hand. He remembered what she had said earlier, on the battlefield, about not being able to afford silver. "Please. Do you want me? Do you truly want me?"

The knight took a deep breath, closed his fingers around the ring, and reached up to pat her head gently with the back of that hand. "I do, Natmi. I've never met a woman like you, and I want you." She trilled softly, shoulders wobbling as she held back a sob. He just kept patting her head, holding the ring against his palm with a thumb and turning his hand over to stroke her hair. "You like it when I do this, don't you?"

"Papa... my father used to pat my head and tell me he was proud of me, when... when I was little. Before..." She drew in a quick breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "Hate crying. One of her claws lightly punched his chest. "Y-you're doing this on purpose, aren't you, Eisen? Y-you like seeing me cry, don't you, meanie..."

As the tears trickled down her cheeks, he realized that he really did hate to see her crying. The absurdity of the moment struck him, but also proved to the knight just how desperate she really was for something she could rely on. Not siblings, who would go their own way upon reaching the proper age, or an army, who would flee and leave their leader to die. A husband, someone sworn to her as she was sworn to him. This wasn't a trick, though he had known that for quite a while, it was the frightened clawing of a starving wretch who smelled the scent of a feast. Not that he was much of a catch, in his own eyes at least, but he would try his best to treat her well. Starting now. "You'd better hurry up and put that ring on my finger," he patted her cheek, "so I can kiss you and make you feel better."

"Right," she heaved a deep breath and leaned against him, then sat up straight. "This is the most ancient of traditions among the lizard-folk, the recognition of strength and dignity in a mate. I will fight at your side, tend to your wounds, and succor your thirst if you will pledge the same to me." Taking his other hand in both of hers, she held the silver band right at the tip of his ring finger. "Your might will be born out in our children, and the legacy of my race will be honored." Her talons trembled much less than before as she looked up at him. "Do you concur?"

"Yes." He did accept, did give himself and take this lizard-girl as his own. "Yes, I do concur, Natmi." He fumbled with the ring she had given him, sliding it onto one of her talons as she pushed the other silver band onto his finger. While hers fit perfectly, his was just a little loose, as though he had a bit of growing to do to fill the role. The amber gemstones were small, but just as bright as her golden eyes.

She flexed her scaly fingers, staring at the little silver bands on their hands as though the jewelry might suddenly melt away. Looking up at her husband, she smiled, fighting back tears of happiness rather than sorrow. "Then I concur as well, Eisen." 

Sealing the deal with a kiss, he hugged his wife for the first time. When they finally pulled apart, he stood and put out his hand to help her stand. "Now, let's go downstairs and make babies." Not the most elegant of speeches, but it was honest. The lizard-girl lept up, loose apron fluttering, and put her claws on his shoulders. He scooped her up in his arms, ignored her sputtering protests about being able to walk perfectly fine, and carefully stepped down the moonlit stairs to the basement below.


	7. Miscommunication

"You really live in a dump, don't you?" Not the most arousing of things she could have said, but blunt honesty was her way. The basement was dim, lit only by moonlight that fell down the stairwell. Water dripped from a crack in the foundation above, trickling down a corner and seeping into the earth. "I mean, I did what I could, but eesh." Natmi curled her tail around his waist, drawing the knight onto the cot with her. The lizard-girl's skin was scarred and tanned, but pleasant to his hands. Most nights were cold, and he always felt a little lonely down here, but this was what the state had assigned him. Many of the farmers lived with their families in even smaller homes, the better to conserve heat. Even in the dim light, he could see the nervous look on her face as he pulled off her apron. "They really run you ragged around here, don't they?"

Eisen nodded. "I am this village's sworn protector. I must answer the call whenever I am needed." She was beautiful. Her claws and tail did not matter to him, he could see beneath the hardened exterior just as she had been able to see beneath his armor. The lizard-girl was strange, but unmistakably feminine. Leaning in, he kissed her full on the mouth and let Natmi pull him atop her. The claws he had feared earlier ran down his back, while her tricky tail slithered around his legs. When their lips parted she looked up at him with a pitying expression he had not expected. Confused, he asked, "What's wrong?" She shook her head and glanced away, then forced a smile as she continued to hug him close. "Tell me!"

"It's just... you risked everything today, and... and this is how they reward you." She shook her head. "I saw the celebration. I saw the big houses in the distance. I know who went there afterward, and it sure wasn't the people who were doing the fighting."

"Warriors are replaceable. Great thinkers are not." He swallowed hard and tried to ignore the irregular dripping of water from the corner. Pulling away just a little, he ran his hands down her belly, over a particularly long scar, and tugged at the small green thong that she still wore. "One day all will be equal, but until then... until then, this is how it has to be."

Natmi blushed as he pulled down her underwear, and nibbled nervously at her lip. His hands slid down her legs, from skin to scale. She curled her toe-talons as he slipped the garment off, and found herself unable to meet his gaze. "No one's ever... I mean, no man's ever seen me..." A guilty look appeared on her face. "Well, there was one, but I killed him." Her cheeks reddened even further. "I... I mean, he was asking for it! Peeping pervert..." She huffed in annoyance, then looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Do... y-you like what..." The lizard-girl laced her scaly fingers behind his back. "I'm not... weird, r-right?"

The knight grinned as he hugged her close, feeling her identification tags against his skin. Now that they were both naked, and since she no longer wore the leather cord that had carried the two rings, those tags were the only thing around her neck. The press of his bare chest against hers and the feeling of his arms around her seemed to soothe Natmi's fears. She squeezed his waist with her tail. He whispered in her ear, "I don't have anything to compare you to, Natmi. You look fine to me."

"Good. G-great." The lizard-girl heaved a sigh. "Damn it all... there's butterflies in my gut. I wasn't this nervous when I was beating the tar out of you earlier!" She lightly nipped at his shoulder to show her displeasure. "And it's all wrong, Eisen. You're a knight, you're supposed to have a tower and a banner, not a dingy basement."

"I fight for the people, not for a greedy monarch." He kissed her cheek. She would come to understand, he was sure of it. Everything would work out. What were the commissars going to do, try to say that such a fine warrior was not worthy of bearing him children? They were no fools, though they could be short-sighted at times when it came to matters of political expediency. That was for tomorrow. All he cared about was this moment. "So I live as the people do. Humility, equality, solidarity." He slid a hand down to her slit and rubbed gently, smiling as her talons clenched and her eyes unfocused.

"Not tonight," she shook her head as her tail squirmed around his waist. He felt the flexible appendage slide between his legs, and its tip gently stroke his manhood. "Tonight, you're getting a reward. I'm going to make you feel good, Eisen, because that's what you deserve." The lizard-girl kissed him on the mouth, tugging his face down against hers. He heard and felt her squeal as his finger stroked against her sensitive nub. Her thong had been dampened by her need, but now her body was responding even though her mind did not fully understand why. She was determined to give as good as she got. He groaned as her tail teased him, the ridges stroking his balls as they slid between his legs and her agile tip stroking where her long tongue had squeezed just a short while ago. "I don't want to be equal. I want to be the best I can be, the best wife you could ever hope for, Eisen." He felt her press the talon he had slid a ring on against his back.

Embarrassed, he almost said no on instinct. He could not let himself be bribed. That was the scourge of capitalism, of men extorting from one another, was it not? Yet this was what a man and wife were supposed to be doing, sexual intercourse for the purpose of procreation, ordained by the state. Looking into her eyes, feeling her wetness on his fingers, groaning softly as her tail coiled around his length, the knight found himself unable to think. He pressed a finger against her entrance, saw her mouth open and her tongue curl back in pleasure, and shoved his thoughts aside. "As you wish, Natmi." He wanted her, he needed her, and she was his to take. "I'm going to-"

"Y-you'll get me pregnant, right?" Her eyes were just a little unfocused. He started to respond, but felt her tail tighten around his waist and rub along his length. The lizard-girl moaned softly as he squeezed her tail between his thighs, then curled the flexible appendage around his manhood just as easily as she had curled it around his ankle earlier in the day. She still seemed to be sensitive along the underside, enjoying the act of squeezing him with her tail almost as much as he did. "W-with lots of children?" Natmi kissed him again as he tried to answer. In the hope of putting her on the defensive he pressed his finger inside her, feeling her virginal tightness. "This... Eisen, this feels so strange," her tail squeezed him again and she bit her lip. "I'm tingling all over, from my... from my claws to the tip of my tail, and..." She looked up into his eyes nervously, clearly afraid. "And... um..."

"Natmi, there's nothing to worry about," he stroked her cheek and tried to shift so he could begin thrusting inside her. She nodded uncertainly, giving his throbbing erection another gentle squeeze with her tail. He grunted in pleasure and felt his back arch. Still slick from her fellatio earlier, his penis seemed unusually receptive to the feel of her tail's underside. While the top was scaly and protective, the bottom seemed just as sensitive as when he had touched it before. She was starting to pant as well, though he wasn't sure if it was from his finger sliding deeper and stroking inside her or the feeling of his manhood wrapped in her coils. "You-"

"I bleed from there sometimes, y-you know," she interrupted him, her voice a nervous trill. She glanced away, her golden eyes unable to meet his. "Not a lot of blood, and not too often, but... I... you know, where you're putting your finger, that's where I bleed from." The lizard-girl blushed hard. "I'm sorry, I should have told you, but I-"

He kissed her on the mouth again and pressed his finger deeper. "Natmi, even human women bleed from there sometimes. You're not weird." Relief flooded through her body. He felt her muscles relax, except for her tail, which seemed to squeeze almost rhythmically. "There's nothing wrong with you at all." Eisen stroked her cheek and ran his fingers over the frills on the side of her head. "Not your face," his hand slid down, over her identification tags, and cupped one of her breasts. "Not your body." He stroked his thumb over her nub while sliding a second finger into her. She shivered in delight, which he felt through her tail. "Not here, and not your tail or your claws either. You're beautiful to me."

"You don't know how it feels to hear that," she whispered. Now the girl had tears in her eyes. "After... after a lifetime of humans calling me a monster." One of her claws slid to the back of his neck, her talons firmly gripped him, and she yanked his head down for a kiss so deep that he could have sworn her tongue tickled the back row of his teeth at least once. Though he tried to pull away after a moment, tried to tell her what he needed to do so that she could become pregnant, since it seemed highly improper to just rip her tail off his manhood and thrust deep inside her, she did not let him. Her legs held his as though they were wrestling. Her tail was around his waist and through his legs, pressing against his scrotum and squeezing his penis. The two were quite tangled up. All he could do was grope her breasts, feeling those hard nipples in his hands and against his chest, and explore deeper inside her with his fingers. She moaned into his mouth, eyes alight with pleasure, and finally he just gave in to her demands. Eisen let go of his need to be the hero, to inspire by example, and let the carnal desires of his heart take hold.

Soon they were moving and squirming, lips still locked and bodies even more entwined. His tip brushed against her muscular belly while his shaft was completely enfolded by her tail, and his fingers were deep inside her while his thumb continued to stroke. Sweat ran over their bodies. Her natural lubricants had made a spot on the sheets, not that either of them cared. For a brief moment as his fingers slid deeper into her, pressing against some thin barrier, she winced as though in pain. It was such a brief instant that he almost did not notice it, and if anything that only seemed to excite her further. She wanted him. He wanted her. The rings on their fingers made this right, but more importantly it felt so right to both of them. Eisen felt her tongue curl around his and kissed back with all his heart. No matter how he tried to discipline himself, to be the perfect man that denied all joy except for that of the state, he had always known there was something deeper that the approval of the commissars could not give him. This was truth, raw and primal, he could no more deny it than he could dive naked into the ocean and declare that he was not wet.

Natmi was wet, his sweat and hers trickling across her tanned, muscular body. The identification chain around her neck did not rattle, but both could feel it moving against their bare skin. Her juices covered his fingers, and his mind told him that she was ready. He needed to thrust inside her, to feel her around him and hear her moan. Eisen wanted to kiss her lips while he seeded her. This was good, this was right, he knew it in his heart. She wanted it too, wanted him to make her a mother, the lizard-girl had been insufferably clear about that! A warrior, a worthy mate, he could not resist her and yet that brought its own problems. In their lust, he had let her trap him. While he could break free of the hold she had on his legs and the tight embrace of her arms, getting away from that tail would be another matter entirely. He could not get loose without hurting her. Even the grip she had on his head, not to mention the way her tongue was coiled around his, could not be broken easily. The two of them were becoming one flesh, moving against each other in search of ever greater pleasure, yet not in a way that would result in what both desired. She had his manhood wrapped up in her tail and even rubbing against her sweaty abdominals, a heavenly feeling. He needed to cum, he wanted to cum, just as the stroking of his fingers and the pleasure of his manhood wrapped up in her sensitive tail drove the lizard-girl toward her own climax.

Unable to get away, unable to even warn her, all he could manage was a faint moan. She looked up into his eyes, and he realized the lizard-girl thought she was doing such a good job. The knight tried again to pull free, to do anything without harming her, but could not. He had to choose between taking control or letting go, and for once in his life, he bucked the voices of the commissars that told him he must always be pure. This lizard-girl was his wife, there was no evil in what they were doing even if it was not strictly for the purpose of procreation. Besides, she was his wife. There truly was no need to rush, was there? Natmi tensed beneath him, eyes wide and uncertain at the pleasure he was bringing her. Eisen stopped pulling away and pressed down, rocking his hips through the tight squeeze of her tail as his inexperienced hands did all they could to bring her to climax. She trilled, that fringe around her ears flexing outward as her back arched, and his thick white seed gushed over her belly and breasts.

Her tail milked him as though by instinct, cradling his balls supportively and wringing out every last little drop. When her lips finally fell away from his and her limp tongue dangled from one side of her mouth, he sat back upright and smiled down at the mess she had become. Cumming had felt so right this time, as though he was marking her body as his with his seed, but he could see that her orgasm was even greater than his own. Her claws twitched on the bed and her eyes had rolled back in her head. She had felt so good in his arms, her kiss as they climaxed together so innocent even while she was shivering and squeezing him. The sheets between her legs were soaked, as were his fingers, from her climax. He saw that there was a little blood on his fingers, and quickly wiped it on an inconspicuous corner of the sheet before she noticed. While her tail was still around his waist, most of its coils had slid off his weary manhood and what remained was closer to an exhausted hug than the firm restraint it had been just a moment ago. Smiling down at her, proud as any man might be at how pretty she looked covered from groin to breast in his seed, he watched his wife heave in breaths. "You're beautiful, Natmi."

A few tears trickled down her cheeks as she lifted weak arms up to him. He hugged her, let her pull him down next to her on the bed and nuzzle her face against his shoulder. Moments passed, and he was almost asleep when he heard her whisper, "I love you, Eisen."

He stroked her hair, felt her trill happily. "I love you too, Natmi."

She shifted on the bed. "You let out so much, and... and I feel so good..." The lizard-girl ran a talon through his seed, then curled her tongue out to lick it. "Ahh... I'm sure to get pregnant now."

Happy, tired, and not thinking straight, he chuckled. "Natmi, I kept trying to tell you, that's not how girls get pregnant." The knight had his eyes closed, and felt as satisfied as any man might in his position. "The seed has to go inside you, where I had my fingers, but it doesn't feel good if the girl isn't ready." His blissful mind expected her to mutter something agreeable, then fall into an exhausted sleep next to him. It had been such a long day for both of them.

Her identification tags tinkled softly as she moved. Abruptly, he felt a scaly claw on his shoulder and a strong tail around his waist. "What did you just say?"

"You've seen pregnant women, right? The old saying goes that they're great with child." It had been explained to him, along with a bunch of young farm-boys, by a self-important commissar who was rather more concerned with putting his hands all over the timid young woman being used as an example. On the upside, at least Eisen had learned how to use his hands on a girl, and from the way Natmi had moaned, the knight felt quite happy with his performance. "A man has to put his seed into the woman for her to become great with child. You bleed from there because... it's like a field that has to be tilled. The blood is just the weeds and stuff being flushed out, that's what he told us anyway. You have to plant at the right time for the seed to take root." Eisen yawned. "I tried to explain, but you kept pushing and squeezing. Don't worry, we'll try again in the morn-"

Now her claws were around his throat, her tail was tight on his waist, and he felt her weight atop him. Blinking open his eyes, he saw a terrifyingly angry lizard-girl straddling him, the fringe on the sides of her head fully extended and her golden eyes full of fury. "All this time I've been wasting your precious seed, and you said nothing!"

"Natmi, I-" She shook him by the neck. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, no, you're not sorry! Not yet!" The lizard-girl growled. Dim moonlight cast shadows across her already formidable form, and that dripping of water in the corner now sounded foreboding. Even the sight of his cum oozing down her nude body could not make her less intimidating. "Ugh! If I'd known that was how it worked, I would have had you bend me over that table and dump your load in me right there!"

"Calm down," he reached up to pat her head. Even angry, she was adorable. "Let's get some rest and we can do it properly in the morning." Eisen felt drained from how much she had already squeezed out of him. Still, there were far worse problems than having an attractive wife who was eager for sex... or so the naive young man thought.

"No, we're not waiting until the morning!" Natmi narrowed her eyes as she held him down. "We're going to do it right, and we're going to do it right now!"

Cold fear began to seize the knight's gut as he stared up into her determined expression.


	8. Decisive Action

He had seen few beautiful women in his life, mostly those taken by the commissars. Natmi had looked very attractive in that apron and thong. Without the grime of battle, without clothes to hide imperfections, just her skin beneath his fingertips and her body straddling his, she was still beautiful. Firm thighs, thick with muscle, and just enough softness in her rump to sink his fingers into. Her breasts pressed him onto the cot as she pinned him down, glaring into his face. Cumming on her toned abdominals earlier as she squeezed him with her tail was a kind of pleasure he had never imagined. That tail twitched back and forth behind her now, its scaly top and sensitive underside casting shadows in the moonlight that fell down the stairs to light this little basement. Were it not for the claws around his throat and the menace of her sharp teeth, he would have been perfectly happy to be on his back like this all night.

"Say it again. Slowly." Her golden eyes seemed to stare into his soul.

"Guys can't... ulk!" She was not strangling him. Just almost-strangling him. Love was a wonderful thing. "Can't cum again that quick, we need... I need a break!"

"I'll give you a break, you lousy excuse for a husband!" Her tail whipped to one side, then arched behind her like a snake ready to strike. Natmi shifted on top of him, her scarred skin brushing against his own. "Minotaurs can shoot white stuff all day long!" She shook him by the neck for a few seconds. "Okay, let's say I believe you. How are you gonna get me pregnant now, huh?"

Eisen sighed and leaned back against the pillow. "Natmi..."

"This is kinda the most important thing in your life, dummy. If you don't have kids, your lineage ends with you." She swallowed hard. "That... that means you lose, because you're not good enough, and... and I hate to lose, so it's definitely not gonna happen twice in one day! Be grateful I'm helping you along, you'd never have kids if some other girl was doing this." The lizard-girl crinkled her nose. "Especially not a human woman. Eeesh. Not a one of 'em out there who's worthy of your seed."

He reached up and stroked her cheek with the back of a hand. "You're the most important thing in my life, Natmi. You're my wife, after all."

She blushed harder, but her grip loosened on his neck. "I... idiot... you really are hopeless at anything other than fighting, aren't you?" The lizard-girl ran her claws down his chest. "Don't tell me you humans don't feel the need." Nibbling at her lower lip, she continued to run her claws over his muscular upper body. "You want to make me yours, don't you? To seed me, see my belly swelling with your children." Squirming atop him, she leaned down to his ear. "I'm just your wife because of this ring on my finger. Don't you want to make me your wife because I'm the mother of your children?"

"Natmi," he groaned softly, his hands squeezing her rump and stroking her back. "I do, I want you, but I'm only a man!"

The fringe around her ears twitched out in annoyance. "You're a knight, Eisen. A big, strong protector. I know you've got enough for another round." She squeezed his upper arms with her claws. "You did on the battlefield today. Just when I thought I had you beat, you came back swinging." Her long tongue flicked against his cheek. "It's not... it isn't me, is it? Do you need me to do something?" She sat upright atop him, her nude body on full display and her groin grinding against his. "I... I've seen..." Natmi ran a claw through her brown hair, eyes darting off to the side for a moment. "Um, the minotaurs liked it when their slave-girls danced for them on... well, on poles, and they liked it when the girls shook their chains and veils." Her tongue darted out, tasting the air. "Do you want me to get some chains and veils?"

"Never!" Eisen said quickly, reaching up to hug the lizard-girl close against him where she belonged. "Do not even speak of such things, Natmi. It is the duty of a knight to break the chains that are upon the working class, and throw back those who would enslave them." He kissed her cheek. "You are my wife now, never again must you even think of chains upon your body. We are all arm in arm as equals, marching toward a glorious-"

She covered his mouth with a hand and trilled softly, her laughter pleasant to his ears. "You silly tin-head. I'm no minotaur slave, but I've seen those big horn-heads shoot white stuff like a frightened peasant spilling arrows when their slave girls are dancing." Natmi kissed him on the mouth, curling her tongue around his for a moment before asking, "I just wanna know what'll make you hard again. Because I wanna do it, so we can do it tonight... and tomorrow... and the next day."

"And so on until you get pregnant?" He gave her a light slap on the butt.

"Well, no need to stop then," she said with a shrug of indifference. "As long as it makes you feel good. Anything for my husband." The lizard-girl narrowed her eyes. "And you'd better be grateful for that, huh?"

"I am, Natmi." He hugged her close. She curled her tail around his ankles. "I am. I just need you here."

They lay together like that for several long minutes, sweat and cum making squishy noises as they cuddled. Despite the lizard-girl's deeply held belief that she needed to be bred, she actually was quite content just to rest in his arms. This was the first peace she had known in a very, very long time. But they were warriors, and as much as warriors prize peace they are also reluctant to lean upon it for too long.

She began nuzzling and poking him. He began kissing and petting her. The lizard-girl's tail twitched. The knight's manhood stiffened. Rising up above him, her golden eyes twinkling, Natmi positioned herself over his hardening rod and began stroking with her claws. When Eisen was once again firm in her grasp, she pressed his tip against her entrance. Her muscular thighs quivered as they lowered her, and she gave a little gasp at his manhood entering her in the intended way for the very first time. Seeing the uncertainty on her face, he reached out with the hand that she had placed the wedding band on and found the claw on which he had placed her ring. Their palms touched, and the lizard-girl squeezed his hand as she pressed her body down.

For him, the experience was the perfect culmination of their lovemaking. She was sopping wet from all the foreplay, and her virgin walls had just the right amount of resistance as they yielded to his similarly inexperienced shaft. Two of her fingers were around his base, keeping him pointed up and gently stroking. He reached out and put his other hand on her hip, steadying her a little as she eased herself down again. This was good, this was right, this was what he had been missing. A woman he could love and respect, a woman worthy of his strength. Small wonder the commissars had never told him of these things, there were none like Natmi that they could assign to him. She was here now, squeezing his hand, pressing herself down onto his manhood with her full bosom swaying and his seed oozing down her tensed abdominals, and she was his forever. The lizard-girl's entrance seemed just as hungry for him as the rest of her, and he groaned loudly as she squeezed tight around his tip before relaxing to try and ease more inside of herself. Pleasure ran up his spine. He half-closed his eyes and groaned as his wife saw to this basic need just as well as she had seen to his grumbling belly earlier. Only when he heard her whimper did the knight realize that this moment might not be as perfect for her as it was for him.

"Natmi?" his voice was husky. From the juices oozing down his shaft to the hot clench wringing his tip, she felt wonderful to him. Yet the lizard-girl's tail was curled sharply behind her, and he could see her tongue arched back in her mouth. At his voice, she hissed in pain and nearly crushed his hand in her claws. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she almost screamed. "I'm not one of your weak human women, I'm just fine!" To prove this to herself, she tried to relax and take more of his shaft, but only slid a millimeter before tears filled her eyes. Shaking her head quickly, she hissed, "I'm fine, I want this. I'm fine." She inhaled sharply. "I want this. I need this. I need you. I... I..." Her head twitched as she avoided his gaze. "Y-you can cum now, a-and get me pregnant!"

"Natmi," he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed its back. "You're beautiful." Her cheeks reddened. "You're beautiful, and you make me feel so happy." He was not skilled with words, but those he spoke came from the heart.

"S-stop that..." she muttered, though her tone of voice made it clear she wanted him to continue. He felt her muscles unclenching, just a little. Though she would gladly die rather than admit it, the proud warrior was terrified of the strange pain lancing through her body, frightened that they were somehow incompatible.

"I won't." He stroked her thigh, slid his hand around to her rump and gave it a good squeeze. She moved her claw from the base of his manhood to the bed, stabilizing herself for a moment and stretching. "I love you, Natmi. I'm so glad you came here tonight."

"You... you oughta be... tin-head." She shut her eyes, tried to relax, and managed to ease herself down a little more. "You're thick as a bear in hibernation, but... but I got you to r-recognize a good thing." Loosening her jaw, she grinned down at him. "Just took some doing... that's all." Her tail twitched from side to side, no longer as stiff.

"The best thing that's ever happened to me, Natmi." He squeezed her hand as her cheeks reddened further. The identification tags around her neck swung from side to side, bouncing against her bosom as the lizard-girl pressed down until she suddenly inhaled and rose back up. He resisted the urge at the base of his brain, the one that called for him to put her on her back and hammer away, thinking only of his pleasure and his need to seed her fertile body. Holding back was not an easy thing to do, the feeling of being inside her was heavenly. Eisen felt everything that his years of masturbation had tried to emulate. Every time she had to retreat he wanted to pursue her, to grab her by the butt with both hands and force her down. He needed to hilt his sword inside her warm sheath and cum that baby-making load she kept asking for. To take his mind off the savage instinct that was unbefitting of a knight, he began stroking the underside of her tail again. "Don't over-commit. I want this to feel good for you too."

"I'm feeling great!" An obvious lie, bitten out between pants for breath. "I've got the... the hi-higher ground... and you're attacking up... a hi-hill..." She again seized his shaft with a claw and kept him steady while easing down. "So I've got the... the tactical advantage..." The two of them knew the language of battle well. They did not know much of the erotic arts. Whispered words of pillars and hidden clefts or flaxen locks and butterfly kisses were meaningless to them.

"Ah, but you're attacking an alerted enemy, one who has rebuffed your previous attacks and fortified in depth!" gloated Eisen, before groaning in pleasure as she squeezed his manhood with both her walls and claw.

"Maybe you've won t-the last few battles," she was a little less tense now, the tears blinked away from her eyes. "But all that m-matters is the final victory!" Raising the hand she had placed the ring on, Natmi said, "I've already eli... eli..." The word stuck in her throat as she tried to take just a little more of his manhood inside her. "Eliminated your routes of escape!" It was dark, so neither could see what they were doing very well, but Eisen felt that she had to be about halfway. Though he was uncertain how long he would last when she had taken him to the hilt, the knight was excited to find out. "Once I've broken your resistance, it'll be a rout!" She squeaked in surprise as he stroked the sensitive part of her tail.

"Are you so sure? I might rally and break through your lines, or fall back to insurgency." Propping himself up on the bed, he brought his head high enough for her to lean down and kiss, which the lizard-girl gladly did. Her golden eyes, even with a trace of tears in them, were full of joy. To think that he would be waking up next to her, seeing those golden eyes every morning before riding out to protect the village... it was too much for a simple knight like himself to imagine. Especially while the rest of her fit and fertile body was trying to drain his balls dry. "I'm not the type to surrender easily. I am trained to keep up the fight until the banner I fight for is triumphant!"

The fringe around her ears flared in mock anger. "Impudent h-human!" His fingers stroking the ridges of her tail and occasionally pinching her butt were having an effect. "Y-you don't know when to just lay down and take it, d-do you?" Clutching his hand, she pressed down and failed to hold back a yelp as her groin mashed against his. Their bodies were joined, and in the dim light he saw that some of the pain that showed on her face had started to fade. After a moment of deep breaths, the lizard-girl walked the talons that had been around his base up his abdomen. "I'll always be... hounding you." Natmi inhaled sharply as she moved again. Her want was not stronger than the pain, they were not fate-destined lovers whose first time was magically orgasmic, but she was a fighter. She was used to good things having a painful price. Her tail curled, rubbing along the arm he was using to stroke its underside. "I'll keep catching you by surprise, and exhausting your forces. I... I won't let anyone else sneak in and give you a way out. This is our little war, and I'm going to win, do you hear me?" 

"Not without a fight, you won't, Natmi," he grinned up at her.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Eisen," she panted.

What started out as an agonizing feeling of easing something too large into something too long neglected soon changed. She felt a fullness that was difficult for her to describe. A sense of doing the right thing, at the right time, with the right person, mixed with a throbbing connection to her husband that no one else would ever understand. As she moved her hips atop him, Natmi began to realize why the minotaurs wanted to do this all the time. Once again she was glad to have found her knight. They had fought on the battlefield, and he had very nearly forsaken his duty as the victor of that duel, but she had brought him back to his senses. She trilled softly, no longer from pain. The slow movements of her hips were starting to feel as good for her as for him. She held back the tears. It wouldn't do to cry, even though she was overwhelmed with joy. After all these years, a husband of her own. A family of her own!

The two fighters spoke little, for there was little that needed to be said. All the taunts had been exchanged, all the promises made. This moment was about sweaty bodies moving in awkward rhythm, two warriors feeling out each other's weaknesses and testing their own limits. The ring and clash of battle looked straightforward and repetitive from the outside. This too was a series of very similar moves repeated over and over again as they built toward the finale, full of subtle nuances that the untrained eye would never see. A brush of his hand against her cheek or the twitch of her tail-tip against his thigh were easily missed. To the two of them, such little gestures said what words could not, and neither missed a single one. The darkness of the basement, with water dripping in one corner, was forgotten. To the two of them, this was their entire world.

Her scales and skin rubbed against his. The knight's strong thrusts were matched by a steady rocking of the lizard-girl's hips. Their lips met, separated, and moved to kiss different body parts. His hands squeezed her breasts, fingers tweaked her nipples to make her moan while she pressed her claws into his back. Neither of them could last long, both wanted to last just long enough. While the duel they had fought on the field of battle was a competition, this was a collaboration, each trying to make up for what the other lacked. Her natural lubricants stained the sheets, as did their sweat, and the cot groaned beneath the force of the two warriors' motions. It would not collapse, while simplistic the bed was sturdily built. Time and time again he thrust, seconds crawling by as the husband and wife felt their hearts pounding inside their weary bodies, and she countered. This was the fulfillment he had never known about, and what she had always wanted.

Compared to their earlier bouts, this one was rather tame and lasted the shortest. To the two lovers, who were tired but wanting, this time was the sweetest. When neither could last any longer, her tail curled around his legs and her body pressed tight against his. Their lips met and held a long kiss. He pressed her rump hard with both hands, holding her tight while she had her arms around him and her claws clutching the backs of his shoulders. It was the twitching that surprised Natmi the most, she never thought his hardness would squirm quite that way inside her. Eisen was too exhausted to think about anything other than her golden eyes and the way her tongue curled around his just like her tail curled around his legs. The moment came and went, their bodies tensing and then turning to mush as they finished what they had started out to do. He patted the small of her back, in the prideful way of a man who has just seeded a woman, and smiled as she slumped atop him.

Neither spoke for a moment. Both wanted to say something poignant, something memorable that would forever seal their love, but they were warriors. Romantic speeches were not things they were skilled in. He certainly did not want to spew one of the pithy sayings that the commissars had dumped into his brain. After a few more moments of silence, save for their heavy breathing, his hand found hers in the darkness once more. Their ring fingers pressed together, and the two smiled at each other. For better or worse, they were one now. They had the rings right here to prove it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author wishes to thank you for reading, and hopes that this story has been worth your time. Feedback from readers helped steer this story in the direction the audience wished, and is much appreciated. Comments from Pastel Comma (Regina_Hark), SacShibari, and Miksenoj were inspiring, thank you to each of you for posting!
> 
> While this story is complete, and hopefully stands on its own merits, work is underway on others. A monstergirl Kitsune story with a focus on tail-petting is in progress and may be of interest to readers of Plate and Scale.


End file.
